The bullet points below represent some of Choose Responsibility’s primary arguments, and can be easily incorporated into your letter to representatives.

About 1,000 18-24 year-olds die each year off the roadways of alcohol-related causes. That figure has been increasing since 1998. Many of those deaths can be linked to the sharp increase in binge drinking rates amongst that age group and the many negative consequences—alcohol poisoning, assault, vandalism, bodily injury—of excessive and risky alcohol use.

America has established 18 as the age of majority. At 18, you can enlist, serve and fight for your country, enter binding legal contracts, serve on a jury, vote, and adopt a child, among other responsibilities. One right is sorely missing from this list – the consumption of alcohol. Legal Age 21 is an abridgement of the age of majority, and does not treat 18-to-20 year-olds like the adults they are.

Legal Age 21 has pushed drinking out of public places and into risky, underground environments where consumption cannot be monitored and excessive drinking thrives. It is this type of immoderate drinking that is harmful to neurological development, according to leading researchers.

Under Legal Age 21, the role of parents and educators is marginalized. They can either become arms of, or havens from, the law. Turning a blind eye prevents parents from assuming an educational role, while condoning the breaking of the law sends an inappropriate message to their children. By criminalizing activity that is otherwise commonplace and expected for adult citizens, Legal Age 21 has bred rampant disrespect for law.

According to NHTSA estimates, safety belts and airbags have combined to save 206,287 lives between 1975 and 2004. By comparison, NHTSA estimates the 21 MLDA saved 23,733 lives in the same period. Safer automobiles and better enforcement of drunk driving have had a vastly larger life-saving effect that the drinking age.

The issue of drunk driving has changed markedly over the past three decades. Americans of all ages are much less likely now to drive under the influence of alcohol, or to ride with someone who is intoxicated. Any change to drinking age policy would not lead us to unlearn these important lessons.